Ingham County prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III was charged last week with pandering, engaging in the services of prostitution and willful neglect of duty.
“The prosecutor in the capitol city of Michigan has the responsibility to enforce the law, report crimes, fight crimes, but he did just the opposite,” Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said in a press conference.
Stuart Dunnings was the Ingham County Prosecutor for nearly two decades and has allegedly been meeting prostitutes since the Spring of 2010. The charges against Dunnings stem from a federal investigation of a Michigan based human trafficking ring last year.
“It’s so hard to think that this person who has been elected to office for so long may have been engaging in a sex crime,” said Andrea Bitely, a spokesperson for the Michigan Attorney General.
Dunnings is believed to have met prostitutes several times a week while in office, finding them on websites like Backpages.com and Escortvault.com and allegedly convinced one woman to begin accepting money for sexual acts after she came to him for help as a victim of domestic abuse.
Bitely said “she allegedly went to Prosecutor Dunnings for help and rather than help her, he abused her. And he forced her into a situation where she was exchanging her body for money.”
Prosecutor Dunnings will be in court next week to face charges. The Michigan Attorney General’s Office is encouraging any other victims of Stuart Dunnings to contact them directly.